Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) Short Interest Update

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 27,480,000 shares, a drop of 15.4% from the October 15th total of 32,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.8 days. Currently, 9.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Franklin Resources from $23.75 to $21.25 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Franklin Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Franklin Resources from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Franklin Resources

In related news, major shareholder Charles B. Johnson acquired 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $1,984,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 89,208,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,890,529.28. This trade represents a 0.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer M. Johnson purchased 18,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.95 per share, for a total transaction of $395,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 216,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,544,055. This trade represents a 9.55 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 231,600 shares of company stock worth $4,537,637 and have sold 24,024 shares worth $1,051,375. 24.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,889,477 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,008,853,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592,943 shares during the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada lifted its position in shares of Franklin Resources by 18,266.0% during the 1st quarter. Power Corp of Canada now owns 31,557,117 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $887,071,000 after purchasing an additional 31,385,293 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,155,516 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $432,730,000 after purchasing an additional 599,045 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Franklin Resources by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,334,601 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $147,312,000 after buying an additional 422,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Franklin Resources by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,095,390 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $158,582,000 after buying an additional 676,760 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin Resources Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Franklin Resources stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $21.80. 3,991,267 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,023,015. The stock has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.20, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.79. Franklin Resources has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $30.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The closed-end fund reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 9.62% and a net margin of 5.48%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Franklin Resources will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.69%. Franklin Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.19%.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts, and partnerships. It launches equity, fixed income, balanced, and multi-asset mutual funds through its subsidiaries.